Merry Christmas Retsuko
by PrinceSolaris
Summary: After just missing her at the office, Haida begins walking home. On the way there, he passes a noodle shop. In a sheer coincidence, he spots Retsuko standing just outside. A Christmas miracle? Perhaps... But one thing's certain: he will not miss his chance again.


_A little continuation to the Christmas special, I wasn't satisfied with the actual ending. Please enjoy!_

* * *

"Merry Christmas, Haida."

Retsuko's words echoed in his head as he continued to stare across the street. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Washimi and Gori disappeared down the street and around the corner. The city was as quiet as Tokyo could get, and Haida and Retsuko were the only ones on that street at that time. Haida was on his way home, dejected from just missing Retsuko at the office, but running into her outside of a noodle shop of all places was definitely a surprise. Haida snapped out of his daze with a shake of his head; he had been silent and staring for too long at this point.

"Er, Merry Christmas to you too, Retsuko," Haida replied. Retsuko smiled as she crossed the street to join him. Haida shoved his phone into his pocket, as he remembered it was still displaying Retsuko's Instagram page. Retsuko stopped to Haida's right and looked up at him, smiling softly. Haida returned it and chuckled.

"What are you doing just wandering around? Didn't you have a party tonight?" Retsuko asked. Haida tried to think up something, but decided that it wouldn't be worth lying to her at this point.

"Well, it wasn't much of a party to start. Me and Fenneko just went to one of the local pubs and had something to drink. Nothing too spectacular," Haida replied.

"You had fun at least, right?" Retsuko asked. Haida shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess so, but Fenneko was mostly mulling over Instagram the whole time," Haida added, making sure to omit the part where he and Fenneko were going over Retsuko's Instagram posts with a fine tooth comb.

"Yeah, she's a bit weird when it comes to Instagram. She was going on about being an 'Instagram Cop' last I remember," Retsuko replied. Haida recalled back to the pub.

"Yeah, there was definitely a lot of that." Haida pondered for a moment. "So that was my evening, how about yours? How did you end up at a noodle shop?" He asked. Haida, of course, already knew the answer to that, but he figured he would want to hear what Retsuko had to say.

"Well, Ton came in last minute and gave me a stack of papers to deal with. After finishing that, I decided that it was too late to do anything tonight, so I just grabbed a quick dinner," Retsuko replied. Haida nodded.

"I suppose our evenings haven't been as full of Christmas magic as we had hoped, huh." Haida stated. Retsuko shuffled in her spot.

"Yeah...but it was nice running into you, though." Retsuko added. Haida smiled.

"Yeah. It really improved my night," Haida replied. "Hey, Retsuko, if you're not doing anything else tonight, would you want to walk home with me? I mean...our places are in the same direction, right?" Haida asked. The sudden burst of confidence was lost on the hyena, as he surprised even himself. Perhaps it had something to do with the fifth of Jack he chugged back at the pub...or perhaps it was just a smidge of that Christmas magic he had been hoping for.

"Oh?" Retsuko said. Haida quickly tried to back himself up.

"Uh, that is...if you want to-" Haida continued to ramble as Retsuko pondered on his offer. It wasn't an uncommon offer, especially coming from Haida. The two of them left work together often enough. But for whatever reason, this time felt different to Retsuko.

"Sure, Haida, I'd like that," Retsuko finally replied. Haida beamed. Retsuko noticed the moonlight reflecting off of the hyena's fur and eyes, painting him in a gorgeous winter light. Retsuko smiled as they both started walking down the street. The neighborhood they were in was fully decked out with Christmas decor, making it extra cheerful. Haida and Retsuko walked in silence for the first little while, simply taking in the beautiful sights.

"These decorations sure make the city look less depressing," Haida mentioned.

"Mhmm. Why can people leave their pretty lights up all year round?" Retsuko replied. Haida glanced at the condo structures around them and shrugged his shoulders.

"I heard somewhere that leaving your decorations up after New Year's is bad luck. You think that has something to do with it?" Retsuko thought for a moment.

"Maybe so. It also might be the reason I've had a less than amazing year. I remember I didn't take down my little tree until halfway through January," Retsuko said sarcastically. Haida chuckled.

"I would say the same for myself, but I was too lazy to decorate last year." Retsuko gave Haida a look of concern. "But it's not all bad, though. Running into you was probably some of the best luck I've had all year," Haida added. The two continued walking in silence. Haida was growing self conscious as the silence drew out longer and longer.

"Yeah, I can relate with you there," Retsuko replied. After another few moments of walking in silence, Haida noticed that Retsuko had stopped walking. Haida stopped as well, turning around to see why she had stopped. Haida recognized the building – it was Retsuko's complex, meaning their little walk together had ended. "Thanks for walking with me," Retsuko said. Haida's expression fell slightly.

"Yeah...no problem, Retsuko," he replied. He placed his hands in the pockets of his jacket and sighed lightly.

"Merry Christmas, Haida," she added.

"Merry Christmas, Retsuko," Haida replied. He turned away from the red panda and continued down the street. Retsuko turned to open the door to her condo complex, but she couldn't. Something felt off. It didn't feel right to Retsuko to just send Haida off on his own.

 _He seemed so down when he said goodbye..._

"Haida, wait!" Retsuko called. Haida stopped in his tracks and turned his head back.

"Huh?"

"Did you...want to come inside for a bit? It's getting late and...I don't feel right just letting you go alone in the cold," Retsuko said. Haida's eyes lit up. The girl of his dreams had just invited him into her place on Christmas Eve. It was his own personal Christmas miracle. He grinned.

"Yes! Uh, I mean...sure thing," Haida shouted, before he corrected himself. Retsuko chuckled. Haida returned to the door where Retsuko was standing and they both entered together. Haida followed Retsuko through the building until they reached her condo. Despite knowing what building she lived in, Haida has never been inside. The place was laid out similar to his own condo, and was decorated nicely for the season. "These are some nice decorations, Retsuko. How long did that take you?" Haida asked.

Retsuko peeked over her shoulder after she hung her jacket.

"Hmm? Oh, not long. I've done it up the same way since I moved in, so I get faster every year," Retsuko replied.

"Ah." Haida took a seat on one end of the couch, while Retsuko took a seat at the other end. "Hey, Retsuko," Haida began. "While I was at the pub with Fenneko, we saw your post on Instagram." When Haida said 'post' instead of 'posts,' she knew exactly which one he was talking about – the one she posted when she was at the office.

"Oh..." Retsuko said softly.

"When I saw it, I'll be honest, I was shocked. It had appeared that you had a Christmas miracle to call your own. But when Fenneko saw it, she made me dig my laptop out of my bag so she could 'investigate," Haida continued. Retsuko's eyes widened. If she knew Fenneko, it means she studied that picture hard, and the way Haida's conversation was headed, it meant he already knew the answer.

"What did you find out?" Retsuko asked, readying herself for the confrontation.

"To make a long story short, we figured out that you weren't actually on a date with some dude, but you had just thrown something together so you had something to post on Christmas Eve," Haida concluded. Retsuko sighed.

"Yup. Sad, right?" Retsuko said dejectedly. She looked up at Haida, who's expression hadn't changed

"That's not what I care about, though. When I saw that post, I thought you had actually gotten a date and were having a nice dinner, and to be honest, I was...I was..."

"You were what?" Retsuko interrupted. Haida looked away from Retsuko.

"I don't know what I was. At first, I was jealous that you had gotten a date. Then I was angry that I didn't ask you when I could, and then...I was happy, because at least you seemed happy." Retsuko looked at Haida, who was smiling stupidly as he stared out the window.

"You were...jealous?" Retsuko asked. Haida snapped back to his senses and looked toward Retsuko. He nodded.

"Yeah. Remember back in the tearoom yesterday?" Retsuko recalled to the day before, when they were alone in the tearoom. Haida had seemed more jittery than normal. It was as if he was trying to say something, but bailed last second. Then...it clicked. It all made sense now – Haida had been trying to ask her out.

"Oh my...Haida, I-" Retsuko began.

"Yeah, don't apologize. I already know how pathetic I must be to you," Haida interrupted. Retsuko raised an eyebrow.

"What? No...Haida..." Retsuko tried again. "You were trying to ask me out." Haida nodded and rolled his eyes.

"Yup, but apparently I'm too chicken to even do that," Haida replied. A few moments of silence passed. Haida stared into Retsuko's eyes. He could tell she was confused. "Look...I'm sorry, Retsuko. I shouldn't have just unloaded on you like that,"

"Haida..." Retsuko repeated. She had suspected that Haida had a little crush on her, but never to the point where he would become jealous, and take pity on himself in such a manner. It genuinely made Retsuko feel bad for not acknowledging his small, albeit present advances, but not in a pitiful way. She took no pity on the hyena – she just felt for him. Retsuko stared sadly toward Haida, who had returned to staring out the window. Snowflakes had began to pepper the pane. She scooted across the couch and placed a hand on Haida's shoulder, causing him to jump. He snapped his head around to face Retsuko, eyes wide as dinnerplates.

"Retsuko? What are you doing?" Haida asked.

"Haida...don't be like that. I mean, you're here now, aren't you? I was having an awful evening until you showed up," Retsuko stated.

"Really?" Haida asked.

"Yes. Thank you..." Retsuko replied. At this point, Retsuko and Haida were now only inches away from each other. They each stared deeply into each others eyes they began to feel each others warmth. Haida felt his face grow hotter and his heartbeat increase as Retsuko began inching closer.

"Retsuko..." Haida breathed.

Retsuko suddenly leaned forward and closed the gap between them. She placed her lips against Haida's and closed her eyes. Haida was shocked, but didn't protest. He wrapped his arms around the small of Retsuko's back and melted into the kiss.

After a few moments, Retsuko felt Haida's tongue push against her lips. She opened her mouth slightly to allow entry. Their tongues danced as Haida tightened his grip around the red panda. After a minute, Haida finally broke the kiss, leaving both himself and Retsuko panting.

"Is this what you were hoping for?" Retsuko asked after catching her breath. Haida smiled.

"It's the best gift I could have hoped for," Haida replied. They both went in for another kiss, this one lasting much longer. The two laid on the couch simply enjoying each others company, occasionally turning around for a kiss. Haida suddenly broke one of their kisses with a gasp

"What is it? What's wrong?" Retsuko asked, concerned.

"I left my laptop with Fenneko... Oh well, I'll just get it from her after the holidays are over," Retsuko smiled.

"Yeah," She said softly, before continuing their kiss

 _Elsewhere In The City..._

No lights were on in the apartment, they weren't needed. Illuminated only by the light of the screen, one fennec fox was scrolling away at the trackpad of her co-worker's computer. It had been an item she had been wanting to get her paws on for a long time, and now, she finally had it. Fenneko rummaged through file after file in search of something, anything of value. After twenty minutes of nothing, she found the goldmine she had been looking for. An evil grin spread across her face as she double-clicked the folder. Fenneko chuckled.

"Oh, Haida. You almost had me fooled. Your browser history is clean of all blemishes, but of course, your hard drive remains tainted." Fenneko raised an eyebrow. "Who writes this stuff on their computer in twenty-eighteen, anyway. At least write it on your phone..."

* * *

 _I see that I am a bit late to the party on Christmas themed stories, but alas, it's my own fault for only watching the special on Christmas Day. My first attempt at non-Zootopia content, as well as my first attempt at something even remotely fluffy. Lemme know what you think! - Prince_


End file.
